Dual use packaging

ABSTRACT

A box blank that can be folded in order to be assembled into a complete box for the shipment of materials. The blank has indicia printed on opposite sides that identify the material to be contained within the completed, assembled box. Each indicia relates to a different material such that the box can be assembled in one orientation to have one set of indicia end up on the exterior surface or assembled in a different orientation to have the other set of indicia end up on the exterior surface. In this manner, the same box blank can be used for different materials to be shipped within the completed box. In the exemplary embodiment, the different materials relate to (1) diagnostic or clinical specimens and (2) exempt human or animal specimens.

REFERENCE TO RELATED CASES

This application is based upon and hereby claims priority to U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/748,516, filed Dec. 8, 2005.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an unassembled blank for producing abox carton and, more particularly, to a carton blank having differentindicia on opposite sides of the blank to allow the user to selectivelyassemble the box having different indicia appearing on the exterior ofthe assembled box.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There are currently used, various packages or boxes for shipping certainmaterials that are classified as materials that require some type ofnotice on the exterior of the package so that persons that come incontact with such packages during the shipping process are made aware ofthe special classification of the contents.

One of such types of boxes is used to contain and ship human or animalmaterials, such as specimens, for testing. With those materials, forexample, there are different labeling requirements for such shipments,for example, if the material is an exempt human or animal specimen,there is one criterion for the labeling, whereas, if the material is adiagnostic or clinical specimen, there is a different criterion for thatlabeling. In each instance, the labeling requirement must be compliedwith in order to ship those materials.

With such materials, however, it is quite common for the same shipper tobe involved in both types of these materials and, therefore, thatshipper must comply with the criteria governing the labelingrequirements of both types of materials.

There is, therefore, a difficulty in that the differing labels on suchboxes must be specially and properly labeled for the particular contentsand, thus, a party shipping such materials must inventory differentunassembled box blanks that have the individual labels for each type ofmaterial that is intended to be shipped so that the shipments will beproperly labeled. The different labeling requirements therefore requirethe shipper to have separate inventorying, stock control and the likefor each of the differently labeled box blanks in order to carry out theshipping functions.

As such, it would be advantageous if the shippers of such specimenmaterials could reduce the number of different labeled packages or boxesby having a box blank that could be used for more than oneclassification of such materials.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, there is a box blank that canbe folded so as to be assembled to form a box for transporting materialswhere such materials require different labels so as to use the same boxblank for two different classes of materials. As used herein, the term“blank” or “blanks” is intended to refer to a flat, unassembled packageor box and is the form in which packages or boxes are maintained ininventory so as to minimize the amount of space taken up by the packagesor boxes. As such, when the actual shipment is desired to be constructedor assembled, the blank is simply assembled into the form of a completedbox or package for insertion of the materials and then shipped to theintended destination.

With the present invention, the same unassembled box blank has differentlabeling on the opposite exterior surfaces in accordance with therequirements of the differing contents to be inserted into the eventualassembled box. The blank has otherwise the normal score or fold linesthat enable the user to fold the carton in forming the ultimate box andthe folding and assembly of the blank into the completed box is carriedout in conventional manner.

By having the different labeling printed on the opposed surfaces of theunassembled box blank, the user can fold the blank to form the box witheither labeling ending outwardly, that is, where one class of materiali.e. exempt human or animal specimens is to be contained with the box,the shipper simply folds the box blank in assembling that box so thatthe appropriate labeling for that type of specimen ends up on theexterior of the box and similarly, if the material is intended to bediagnostic or clinical specimens, the shipper inverts the flat,unassembled carton and therefore uses the same box blank to make up thebox with the alternative labeling on the outside.

There may be instructions on the blank as to which side should be facingupwardly in order to have the completed box display on its exterior, thedesired labeling for the particular materials contained therein.

In the exemplary embodiment, there is also a location, such as printedsquare boxes, that can be marked in some manner manually by the shipperto indicate whether the material contained within the box is a exempthuman specimen or an exempt animal specimen.

In the aforesaid manner, the same flattened box blank can be used fortwo different classes of materials requiring different labeling and,therefore the inventory and inventory control can be simplified byhaving the same box blank that is usable for different labeled material.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top view of a flattened, unassembled box blank havinglabeling printed thereon for use with exempt human specimens or exemptanimal specimens;

FIG. 2 is an assembled box constructed from the unassembled blank ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top view of a flattened, unassembled box blank havinglabeling thereon for use with diagnostic or clinical specimens; and

FIG. 4 is an assembled box constructed from the unassembled blank ofFIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Turning first to FIG. 1, there is shown a plan view of an unassembledbox blank 10 of the present invention and where the box blank has anexterior surface 12 facing upwardly in the Figure. As can be seen, thebox blank 10 has a plurality of normal panels for a blank used forassembled into a completed box, that is, there is a top panel 14, abottom panel 16, side panels 18, 20 and end panels 22.

In the embodiment of FIG. 1, there is indicia printed on one of the sidepanels 18 that designates the exterior surface 12 for use with exempthuman specimens or exempt animal specimens. Accordingly, to construct orassemble a completed box for use with such materials, the exteriorsurface 12 would be facing downwardly and then assembled in theconventional manner.

The indicia printed on the top panel 14 can be used to locate and insertthe addresses of the shipping and receiving parties in a normal manner,however, the indicia printed on the side panel 18 comprises the properlabeling indicia that allows the shipper to use the blank 10 to assemblea completed box for shipping exempt animal specimens and exempt humanspecimens. There is also a location on the side panel 18, such the boxes24, 26 for the shipper to mark, such as by a check mark or x mark, thatmore clearly defines the particular material as either exempt human oranimal specimens.

While the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1 illustrates the location of theindicia to be on the top panel 14 and one of the side panels 18, it canbe seen that others of the panels could be used for locating thelabeling indicia and/or the addressing information and, for the matter,the addressing and labeling indicia could alternatively, be printed onthe same panel.

Turning now to FIG. 2, taken along with FIG. 1, there is shown aperspective view of a completed box 28 that has been assembled from thebox blank 10 of FIG. 1. As such the completed box 28 can contain exempthuman specimens or exempt animal specimens with the specific type ofspecimen marked in one of the boxes 24, 26 printed on the side panel 18.The addressing indicia containing the location for the identification ofthe shipping and the receiving party is printed on the top surface 14that is automatically provided in that location during the assembly ofthe box blank 10.

Turning now to FIG. 3, there is shown a plan view of the unassembled boxblank 10 of the present invention and where the box blank has anexterior surface 30 facing upwardly in the Figure. The exterior surface30 is the opposite of that shown as the exterior surface 12 of FIG. 1and has different indicia printed thereon i.e. the box blank 10 in theorientation of FIG. 1 has simply been inverted to that of FIG. 3. Againthe same panels of the box blank 10 are shown as were identified withrespect to FIG. 1 but now the exterior surface 30 is facing upwardly.

As can be seen in FIG. 3, the side panel 18 now has indicia in the formof labeling that states the contents to be shipped in the eventualcompleted box to be diagnostic or clinical specimens.

Turning, finally, to FIG. 4, taken along with FIG. 3, there is shown aperspective view of the completed box 32 where the exterior of the box32 is the exterior surface 30 illustrated in FIG. 3 and therefore thelabeling on the side panel 18 states that the materials within the box32 are diagnostic specimens or clinical specimens.

As can be seen therefore, the user can position the unassembled boxblank 10 with the desired labeling in the proper orientation for theassembly of the box 32 for the particular material to be shippedtherein.

In the exemplary embodiment, the contents of the eventual box can be (1)diagnostic specimens or clinical specimens or (2) exempt human specimensor exempt animal specimens and that identification is necessary for theshipping of that material.

There may also be instructions for the assembly of the box to illustrateto the user which exterior surface needs to be in the upwardly facingdirection to achieve the desired completed box and there areconventional score or fold lines that facilitate the user's foldingportions of the box blank in order to complete the finished box. Byfollowing the instructions, the user can assemble the box with thedesired labeling on the exterior of the finished box.

In addition, while the exemplary embodiment is specifically disclosed tobe used for materials that are specimens, it can easily be appreciatedthat the technique of the present invention can be used in other fieldsand with other materials with the use of a box blank having differentindicia printed on opposite sides of the box blank to relate todifferent contents depending on the assembly of the completed box.

Those skilled in the art will readily recognize numerous adaptations andmodifications which can be made to the box blank and completed box ofthe present invention which will result in an improved packaging system,yet all of which will fall within the scope and spirit of the presentinvention as defined in the following claims. Accordingly, the inventionis to be limited only by the following claims and their equivalents.

1. An unassembled blank for being assembled into a box for shippingmaterials, the blank having oppositely facing surfaces, one of theopposite facing surfaces having indicia indicative of a particularmaterial to be shipped in the assembled box and the other of thesurfaces having different indicia indicative of a different material tobe shipped in the assembled box.
 2. The unassembled blank as defined inclaim 2 wherein the indicia is labeling indicia.
 3. The unassembledblank as defined in claim 2 wherein each of the oppositely facingsurfaces has different shipping labeling legal requirements
 4. Theunassembled blank as defined in claim 1 wherein one surface has labelingindicia indicative of shipping an exempt human or animal specimen andthe other surface having labeling indicia indicative of diagnostic orclinical specimens.
 5. The unassembled blank defined in claim 1 whereinthe one surface has indicia that allows a user to mark whether thecarton is intended to contain exempt animal specimens or exempt humanspecimens.
 6. The unassembled blank as defined in claim 4 wherein theone surface has boxes to be selectively marked by a user depending uponwhether the blank, when assembled, is intended to contain exempt animalspecimens or exempt human specimens.
 7. The unassembled blank as definedin claim 1 wherein each of the opposite facing surfaces includes addressindicia for locating an address of at least one of the shipping party orthe receiving party.
 8. The unassembled blank as defined in claim 1wherein the blank has a plurality of panels having fold lines tofacilitate assembly into a completed box and wherein the address indiciaand the labeling indicia are on the same box panel.
 9. A method ofassembling a box from a box blank having oppositely facing surfaces withdifferent labeling on the opposite surfaces indicative of differentmaterials to be contained within the box, the method comprising foldingthe blank to form the box in a manner to have the desired labelingappearing on the exterior of the box.
 10. The method of claim 9 whereinthe desired labeling related to is specimens.
 11. The method of claim 9wherein the desired labeling on one surface relates to the shipment ofdiagnostic specimens of clinical specimens.
 12. The method of claim 11wherein the desired labeling on the other surface relates to theshipment of exempt human specimens and exempt animal specimens.
 13. Abox for use in the shipment of differing materials, the box comprised ofa plurality of panels including side panels, a top panel, a bottom paneland end panels, at least one of the panels having an exterior surfacehaving indicia identifying the material to be shipped within the box andat least on of the panels having an interior surface having indiciaidentifying another, different material to be shipped within the box.14. The box of claim 13 wherein the at least one panel having anexterior surface having indicia and the at least one panel having aninterior surface having indicia are the same panel.
 15. The box of claim14 wherein the at least one panel is a side panel.
 16. The box of claim13 wherein one of the panels has printed indicia for adding theaddresses of the shipper and the receiver.
 17. The box of claim 13wherein the exterior surface of the at least one panel has labelingindicia identifying the material to be diagnostic or clinical specimens.18. The box of claim 13 wherein the exterior surface of the at least onepanel has labeling indicia identifying the material to be exempt humanor exempt human specimens.
 19. The box of claim 18 wherein the exteriorsurface of the at least one panel has a location for a user to mark thecontent to be specifically exempt human or exempt human specimens. 20.The box of claim 13 wherein the exterior surface of one panel hasaddressing indicia for locating the addresses of the shipping andreceiving parties.